When it comes to wiping our mouths and dirty hands, most of us don’t really put too much thought into the napkins we use. Like most of us, I look for napkins that are clean. The other day, I noticed a couple napkins in my car that I had taken when I visited a local Caribou Coffee shop. One had a thought-provoking question: What Do You Stay Awake For? The other napkin offered a writing prompt inviting us to write a really short novel…

I found these napkins amusing, clever and thought-provoking. For me coffee shops are a place where I can come up with ideas under the influence of the ever-almighty caffeine. These napkins offer me the opportunity to get some ideas flowing…provided that I look close enough to read the napkins.

It’s interesting to note that there are books devoted to things scribbled and drawn on napkins. I’m thinking specifically about Dan Roam’s The Back of the Napkin, where the book jacket goes on to say…”Used properly, a simple drawing on a humble napkin is more powerful than Excel or PowerPoint. It can help us crystallize ideas, think outside the box, and communicate in a way that other people simply get.”

How about you…have you written or drawn anything interesting on a napkin recently?

For bicycle messengers (and other cyclists), the winter is what separates the professionals from the wannabees. I realized this earlier today as I was walking downtown in Chicago on a cold, gray and windy day as I watched a lone cyclist struggle to pedal fast down the street.

Once upon a time, when I was out of high school looking for a summer job, I wanted to become a bike messenger. It was partly inspired by my love for cycling and watching Kevin Bacon in the movie Quicksilver. I decided against the bike messenger gig because it would have involved a 14 mile round-trip ride plus whatever miles I would cycle during the workday.

Seeing this lone bike messenger today also reminded me of a time about 10 years ago when I was working a freelance gig at a local university. On one very cold, snowy day, a bike messenger (who was less than six feet and 150 lbs.) walked into our office to deliver a 10 ream box of paper. I will never forget that moment he walked in — out of breath, dripping wet and his glasses so fogged up that I’m surprised he knew where he was going. My mouth dropped wondering how this rather small guy could deliver such a large, heavy package in near-blizzard conditions. It turns out he rode more than two miles with the box on his front handlebars.

Recalling this incident again today reminds me of an earlier post I wrote about showing up. It prompts me to ask:

What is it that you want to do so badly that your willing to show up every day, no matter how bad the weather or how crazy you look doing it? What is it that you love doing so much that your salary is secondary to your personal satisfaction? What are you willing to do that all the wannabees don’t want to do?